She also will make a presentation 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 21, at Bayou Village School, 3701 Hardy, in the Heights area.

Colton said she invited Allison to come back to The Woodlands Children's Museum after the author and educator made her first presentation there in 2012.

"What she shares is so inspiring," Colton said. "All of the things I've learned from her I've been able to share with my staff, my grandchildren, my husband. She really touches well on the differences between a little girl's brain and a little boy's brain."

Colton said the guidelines for communicating with boys apply to interacting with men, too.

Allison says it was not her own children - she raised daughters - but the pupils in her elementary school classroom in Oregon that got her thinking about the differences between boys' and girls' learning.

"I was just mystified by these boys," Allison said. "No one had told me boys interact and learn so differently."

In the 1990s, Allison began a period of research into boys' brains, their learning and communication styles and their behavior patterns.

"Everyone is different, of course, but there are general concepts that hold true," she said.

One of things Allison learned is boys tend to learn best when they can move around, and they're more likely to respond to lessons that involve touching and doing than hearing and reading.

Many girls learn best this way, too, Allison said, but because most girls are adaptable and very verbal, they can thrive in a classroom setting.

"This isn't taught in teacher education programs," she said.

Allison estimates that about 80 percent of grade school pupils sent to the principal's office for acting up in class are boys. "That's because we're asking boys to be a way that goes against their hard wiring," she said.

Boys also are more likely to drop out of school than girls, Allison continued.

"I hear from so many parents who start with curious learners, and they go to school and stop feeling engaged."

Allison said, parents need to understand and be their sons' advocates.

"I really truly know parents want to be the best they can be, and that comes from having the information to work from," she said.

The workshop can help anyone who interacts with boys - and with men, Allison added. "I've had dads tell me it helped them understand themselves better, and I've had moms tell me it helped save their marriage."